Page 9 - bne magazine September 2021_20210901

bne September 2021 Companies & Markets I 9
“Recent business reforms in Uzbekistan have enabled
the country’s leading companies to restructure, access international financing opportunities and explore foreign markets. Capitalising on this, Artel Electronics has been successfully revising its existing processes to follow international best practice in financial reporting and ESG,” Fitch added.
“This is a really exciting moment for the company, and for Uzbekistan as a whole; we are one of the first companies to take advantage of new reforms introduced over the last three years and receive a credit rating. This is just the start of our journey, and we look forward to building on this rating and further improving our position in the months and years to come,” Kivanc Isik, deputy chairman for business development and strategy at Artel told bne IntelliNews.
Kyrgyz security services claim enough evidence to press on with removal of Centerra from Kumtor gold mine
Kanat Shaku in Almaty
Kyrgyzstan has gathered enough evidence to move ahead with the removal of Canada's Centerra Gold from the country’s Kumtor flagship gold mine, the Kyrgyz state security service and prosecutors said on August 11.
Kyrgyz authorities are investigating possible corruption
in the deal that gave Toronto-based Centerra control over
the country's biggest gold mine along with subsequent amendments to the agreement. The state security service now claims it has established enough facts to press forward with the authorities’ aim of annulling the deal.
Centerra Gold has previously stated that it considers the seizure of the mine as unjustified and illegal, while dismissing Kyrgyzstan’s allegations as false. The company, which has posted a Kumtor “Myth vs. Fact” section on its website, said this week that it has recognised a $926mn loss on the change of the mine’s control. Kumtor was included in Centerra’s discontinued operations.
The Kyrgyz government, which came to power following political upheaval in Kyrgyzstan seen late last year, seized control of Kumtor in May in a move challenged by Centerra Gold via international arbitration. The authorities resurrected several
“We are delighted to have received our first rating from Fitch today. This moment follows months of hard work by the team at Artel as we work to align ourselves with the best global standards of corporate governance. The rating will help us deepen our cooperation with our partners, access new forms of financing, and is the natural next step towards entering international capital markets”, said Bektemir Murodov, CFO at Artel.
Founded in 2011 with limited product lines, Artel has grown to produce a wide range of household appliances and electronics, with over 10,000 employees operating throughout Uzbekistan. The company currently exports its products to over 20 countries throughout the CIS and the Middle East. It is also the regional partner of Samsung and Viessmann.
The battle over the rights and wrongs of the Kumtor gold mine seizure affair is heating up.
previously settled alleged tax and environmental complaints in relation to Kumtor gold mine prior to the seizure.
Filed for Chapter 11
Since the seizure of the mine, Centerra’s Kyrgyz subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 protection. Centerra has also sued the new external manager of the mine, alleging that while he served as a director, he conspired to steal the asset from the company. Centerra said at the time, the Kumtor Gold Company (KGC) and the Kumtor Operating Company were solvent, with total assets above $1.1bn and no external bank debt.
Reuters quoted Centerra Gold’s spokesperson on August 11 as saying: "While we continue to pursue all measures necessary to protect the company’s rights related to the Kumtor mine,
in arbitration and in other legal proceedings, the company
has consistently stated that it remains willing and available to engage with the Kyrgyz government in a constructive dialogue on the matters it considers to be the subject of dispute."
The US Bankruptcy Court in late July ruled that the government of Kyrgyzstan was in contempt of court for continuing with its local legal action against KGC.
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